Sunday, July 20, 2008

Happiness and Careers

In my last two posts I discussed the area of positive psychology, the study of how regular people can become happier. In both posts I mentioned a superb book on the subject called The How of Happiness. The author, Sonja Lyubomirsky, has my profound respect for the research she has conducted and her efforts to carry her research to the general public.

How excited was I when, somehow, Sonja discovered those two blogs and sent me an email thanking me. In her email I noticed that she has started a blog, and being a big fan of her work, immediately started reading. One particular blog is of great importance to academic advisors.

In this blog, Sonja stated that the number one factor leading to personal happiness is the person's job. Her blog states...

people who have jobs distinguished by autonomy, meaning and variety – and who show superior performance, creativity, and productivity – are significantly happier than those who don’t... We tell our students they should work hard to get a good job that pays good money. Now we can tell them its more than a matter of money, it is a matter happiness. What could be more important?